The Latest Kwik Sew 2565

Here's the Native print T that I made during winter vacation from my TNT Kwik Sew 2565. Although windy today, it's warm enough to actually wear it outside.

...with a sweater of course. 

The SewWest Closet: I styled the T with a Coldwater Creek cardigan I've had for several years, Jones NY jeans, and Ivanka Trump suede booties. Also, a black wrist brace on my left wrist, courtesy of a bout of tendonitis I've been dealing with this month. 

What I Did on My Winter Vacation

I was fortunate enough to have some time off over the holidays and was able to spend a good bit of time playing in the Sewing Cave. I was able to finish several sewing projects and a crochet one as well.

My first project is the third twin set I've made using the Loes Hinse Sweater Set pattern. It's another older one of her patterns that's still on the Casual Elegance site.

A fast make, and I loved how this set came out. This version was made with 2 yards of a rayon blend sweater knit I bought from Casual Elegance last winter. I couldn't resist the chunky knit print on the fine gauge knit fabric!

The sewing was pretty straight forward, following Loes' techniques. I used a combination of a narrow zigzag and serging for assembly, with only a few hand stitches at the hem of the cardigan (as instructed by the guide sheet) and at the center front neckline (not on the guide sheet). I added an additional button and buttonhole to the front placket since my chosen buttons were smaller than the recommended size.

My next project used the OOP Kwik Sew 2565, which I can always count on for a good T-shirt.

I've made a bunch of these over the years, but when you've got a well fitting basic, why re-create the wheel? My most current version was traced off in 2012. It's a combination of sizes, the neckline has been dropped a bit, and I've adjusted the fit due to weight fluctuations (sigh). I like that the pattern has curved side seams and even has bust ease built in, as well as a high cap for the sleeve.

I originally planned to make this T when the weather is warmer since the fabric is a printed knit lace. However, I noticed there was a big pull in the fabric that had resulted in a hole when I was getting ready to put it away. I didn't want to risk any additional damage, so I cut out the T and sewed it without even washing the yardage first. I have better control using the sewing machine when sewing delicate knits like this, so I used a narrow zigzag for assembly, and a wider zigzag for the hems.

The fabric came from Casual Elegance, but since I had this sitting on the cutting table for a couple of weeks before putting it away, I can't say if the fabric was flawed or if kitty paws were responsible. I've always had a good experience when purchasing from them in the past, so I suspect that Smudge is to blame.

I made a couple more pairs of pajama pants from cottons in my stash. These two I bought from the estate of a sewing friend. I have enough of the black print left over to make another project. For the pattern, I used the McCall's 2476 pattern that I've used many times before.

This particular pattern is probably out of print, but the major pattern companies seem to always have a few sleepwear patterns in their catalogs. I've found that most of the pants are very similar to each other. I do prefer a Miss pattern to Unisex ones because I don't need as many adjustments that way.

The last two projects didn't require patterns since they're scarves! The plaid one came from a remnant that a friend of mine gave me, so I'm not sure of the exact fiber content. One side is a plain weave and the other is brushed. I really like it, and it's already seen a lot of wear. The crochet one is just double crochet and is made from reflective yarn from Red Heart. I wear it when DH and I go on our early morning walks. It's warm and since the yarn is bright and reflective, it also adds a bit of safety.

The plaid scarf was originally a large square with fringe on all sides, but I was unhappy with the way it looked. So I re-cut it into a narrow strip, saving some fringe on either end. The long edges are machine sewn.

A close up of the crochet scarf shows the reflective qualities of the yarn a little better. I went with with double crochet throughout and improvised as I went. It's simple and utilitarian, but that's what I was going for.

Loes Hinse Cowl Top, Part Two

And the third top from the shoot! I'm loving this tunic since the fabric is so soft and cuddly. I made this one about 2" longer than the pattern so I could wear it as a tunic if I want to (and I have).

The SewWest Closet: Simply Vera narrow ponte pants with faux leather patches, MIA boots. The coral necklace is a vintage piece I bought at a silent auction.

Loes HInse Cowl Top

This is another TNT pattern that I've made before in both long and short views. It goes together quickly in all sorts of knit fabrics, including sweater knit, stretch velvet and interlock. This one is made from a cuddly cotton and synthetic sweater knit I bought from Casual Elegance Fabrics earlier this year. This picture of the collar shows the texture of the fabric in more detail:

My tracing of the pattern combines size Medium in the neck/shoulder area and Large from the armhole down. The only changes I made this time were to drop the neckline about 3/8", cut the cowl a little larger for the deeper neckline, and lengthen the body by 2". I wanted a tunic length that I can. wear with jeans or leggings.

I went from cutting out to finished in an afternoon, and really is an easy make. The pattern is still available on the Casual Elegance website even though it was issued many years ago. It features a couple of shorter versions too. I highly recommend it. 

Pattern envelope and technical drawings:

The garment pictures are also from the post-Thanksgiving shoot, so I'll provide some pictures of me wearing it soon.

T Shirts--A TNT and a New One.

What happened to July? Seems like I totally missed it--lots going on at work, and I kind of lost my sewing mojo with all that was happening. I actually was doing some sewing though, thanks to my trusty Material Girls group. I nearly always manage to cut out a project or two when I'm there. It just took me a little while to finish them since I like to combine my cover stitching projects.

The first one I made was Kwik Sew 2565, which I must have made about a hundred times by now.

But why not? It's a great pattern that I've already tweaked to my liking.The fabric is a really nice rayon(?) knit from Casual Elegance. It has a good drape, and is thicker than most rayon knits. But before I got sold on all that, I just loved the watercolor animal print. Just beautiful, and can be worn with just about anything.

Umm, yes, the print is a little off center, but oh well. I still like it, and as Ann says, "This is a summer tee, so the slightly off-center placement of the major motif on the front is just fine."

The other one is the Eureka Top from TSW. 

I have mixed feelings about it, because dang! The sizing is huge. I cut out my usual Small/Medium mix for this shirt and it's enormous. I am going to try again in a straight Small to see if I like it better. At least it will be comfortable to wear in the heat.

For this, I used another rayon knit that I found at Joann's a couple of years ago. On first glance, it looks like a floral but it's really a skull print. 

It's thinner than the Casual Elegance fabric and a more cotton-y look and feel.

Here it is styled like all the shirts you've been seeing lately in fashion shots.

What's with that anyway? Here it is loose. See? It's big. 

I have another project underway that I hope to have finished soon, a border print skirt. And there's also that repeat of the Eureka pattern.

More TNT Kwik Sew 2565 Tees

January was a blur of a month, with lots to do at work following the holiday season. I have a new manager, and probably another one after the former manager's position is filled. In addition, two members of my team were transferred to another client. Eventually they'll be replaced, but for now it's busy.

Fortunately, we haven't had the terrible frigid and snowy weather that everyone back east is experiencing, but we really do need some snow or else it will be quite a drought in the summer.

While I haven't been posting, I've been doing some sewing and wardrobe building. I made three new versions of my old favorite Kwik Sew 2565, which you've all seen many times before. And I used some stash fabrics too! 

First up is a faux ikat poly knit from JoAnn's:

Next was this rayon devore from Casual Elegance:

And last, a lacy poly knit from Hancock's:

Each tee had its challenges. The faux ikat is a 4 way stretch, so I cut the neck band along the lengthwise grain for a more interesting look. As a result the band was not quite as stretchy and it buckles around that front curve. Not too noticeable when it's on, but you know how picky we sewists are!

The rayon devore is a beautiful fabric that pictures do not do justice. It has curvy areas of sheerness, color variations, print, and glitter! Again, band issues because the printed design sits on the surface of the fabric and so does the glitter, meaning the stretch is not consistent across the fabric. So, I had a real struggle getting that band installed. It looks fine but in restrospect, fold over elastic might have been a better choice.

The lace knit's challenge was layout, not sewing. It was difficult to line up the fabric and keep it aligned while placing and cutting the pattern pieces. But once cut out, it was super easy to sew.

The devore and lace knit are both pretty sheer but I decided not to line them. I have some thin knit camisoles that I'll wear beneath. I put a black cami under both in the photos and you can barely tell it's there.

I have two more projects cut out and ready to start--an easy one and a more precise one. The easy one is a knit nightgown basically two pieces. I also have a TSW Zen shirt from some very nice blue shirting that I had on hand.

Loes Hinse Boat Neck Top

I was able to work in the Sewing Cave yesterday and put this top together in a fairly short amount of time. It's not perfect, but close enough for wearing. Also, I was able to come up with some ideas for making it better next time.

The sweater knit was not the easiest to work with--very soft, thin and without much recovery. The very factors that make it so comfortable to wear made it hard to sew. I definitely needed to stabilize the front and back neckline. Now I know, in case I work on a similar fabric in the future. Also the best way to mark all the seams coming together (2 raglans and a sleeve dart) is not a dot, not even with tailor tacks. No, I think the best way is to actually sew in a basting line along all the seam allowances in that area. And I probably need to take out a smidgen of width along the front neckline.

All that being said, I will be trying it again because I do like the top, and the fit through the neckline and shoulders is pretty close. And that's saying a lot for any raglan style.

Next Up: the Loes Hinse Boat Neck Top

I was at a loss for what to sew next after completing the last three projects in record time. Then I remembered this top, which was lost for several months in the Sewing Cave until I unearthed it.

I hope my heavy silver chain turns up the same way! But I digress...

I found this pattern all traced and everything, and I also remembered that I had ordered this sweater knit from Casual Elegance last fall (sorry, but it's sold out):

And so a project is born.

I have a mixed history with this pattern, having made it before unsuccessfully. I think that was a matter of poor fabric choice combined with failure to mark a match point. This is seldom needed with Loes Hinse patterns, but I've learned. When she places a match point on the tissue, pay attention.

I'm still in the planning stage now, but I'm hoping to cut sometime today.

TSW Stella Version 2, Part Two

And it's done! Incredibly, the flash shot showed off the color of this top the best so it's the one that got picked. Oops, probably should have rearranged the garment on the dress form a little bit better too.

But you get the general idea, right?

I worked on the tip of the cowl a bit last night and managed to finesse it into place with a little hand basting, some steam a seam, and pressing. Then I re-sewed the seams using the crease created by the pressing. It's not totally neat on the inside, but no one but me is going to see that. Yeah, didn't save any time by not basting the raw edges of the cowl together before sewing it to the top. Well, you live and learn.

The rayon jersey is very drapy, which is nice, but the neckline looked pretty meh until I folded it down. Doing this gave just enough structure, and is what you're seeing in the picture.

This is not a color I would have chosen without those little nailhead dots to jazz it up a bit (and the sale price), but now that it's made, I'm very happy with it. It's neutral and will work with a lot of other items in my wardrobe.

TSW Stella Version 2, Part One

I made this pattern for the first time in December and liked how it came out. I did need to tweak the top a little, and those changes have been transferred to the pattern pieces. The modified pattern is shorter through the body and the sleeves are narrower.

For this version, I'm using the taupe rayon jersey with nailhead embellishment that I bought in January. It was a bolt end from Casual Elegance, so the price was very reasonable.

Since this is a knit and pretty drapey, I changed the way I cut the cowl. I folded out the hem on the pattern piece, folded the fabric crosswise, then laid the neck edge of the pattern piece on the fold. The resulting cowl will be a double layer on the lengthwise grain. This change takes more fabric but will result in a more finished look than a hemmed neckline edge.

The nailheads are actually little plastic dots, not metal. I cut the pattern pieces out with a rotary cutter, and had no problems cutting through them. I sewed some samples, and both stitching and serging were fine. Pressing requires some care though. Even on low heat, touching the dots with the iron takes off the metallic "nailhead" finish. So I've been hovering the iron over the fabric without touching it, steaming, then finger-pressing. Alternatively, steaming through a press cloth has also worked.

The top has gone together fairly well so far. I've made it as far as sewing the cowl. It's mostly attached, but the point is going to require a little finessing to be balanced, centered and neatly sewn. A good point to stop for the evening and let Stella rest on the dress form.

TSW Ann's Cardigan

Last weekend started out with a bang--I opened my 6 year old Mac Book Pro Friday morning and the screen looked like this:

So that Saturday ended up being a day of running back and forth between the house and the Apple Store. While it was exciting and fun to buy a new computer (a Mac Book Air), I decided that my Sunday needed to be a day of creative relaxation. I had already traced off the TSW Ann's Cardigan Pattern,

...so I pulled out some knit fabric that's been aging for almost 10 years!

I think it's a cotton/poly double knit something-or-other that I originally bought for a knit suit during my business banking days. Since my current job isn't client-facing, I didn't need for that purpose,  but it's absolutely perfect for something like this. The front and back sides both look good, although distinctively different.

Here's the front:

And the back:

The cardigan went together pretty quickly. I got most of it done last Sunday, and I was able to finish it up this Saturday while watching the Whitney Houston funeral.  Here's the completed garment:

 I got it finished with time to spare before the "Meet Your New Mac" class at--yes, the Apple Store! Afterwards, I also got to wear it for a casual dinner date with DH. He even offered an unsolicited compliment on how nice it looked!

As for fit, it's good not great. Definitely not oversized, so let's put that issue to rest where Sewing Workshop is concerned. This is not loose fitting, and I would say the pattern is true to the measurements on the back of the envelope. I did my usual Small/Medium combination of sizes on this one and probably could have added a little more room at the back of the garment. The average person probably wouldn't notice, but I think the side seams are sitting a little farther back at the sides than they should be. Erhm, time for a little weight loss--just in time for Lent!

I don't think there will be a lot of these coming out of the Sewing Cave. This cardigan is pretty distinctive and it's one of my "loving hands at home" rules not to always be wearing the same recognizable style. I'm reminded of a math teacher I had in junior high school who had a jumpsuit pattern that she made several times. It had a mock turtleneck, cuffed bell sleeves, wide pant legs and a zipper up the back. She must have had 4 or 5 of them in rotation, and they all looked the same except for different fabrics. No, you have to use discretion if the garment is distinctive.  Perhaps I'll make another for the warm months, then I'll need to figure out a way to tweak the pattern into something that looks a little different. The pattern also comes with a knit tank top pattern, so I'll be playing with that when the weather gets warmer. I can always use another tank top.

My next project for Presidents' Day weekend will be another TSW Stella made from the Casual Elegance nail head rayon jersey. I cut it out this morning. It will be perfect for this time of the year, when winter's just about done but spring hasn't arrived yet. It can be worn by itself or as a layer, and it's not so distinctive that a repeat (or several) would be like my math teacher's jumpsuit wardrobe!

FYI, I was reading my iPad this morning and discovered that Anthropologie has a new "free" app designed for it. Kudos to them! It presents the merchandise in an interesting way and you can even save favorites for further examination or sharing via social media or email. I know a lot of us sewers like to peruse Anthropologie, so if you're an iPad person, do check it out.

Where Did the Weekend Go?

Busy times continue here at Casa DaQ. At some point, I'll get into details but I've been asked to keep them quiet at this time at DH's request. Anyway, last week was a blur.

Today has been a much-needed lounging day, which included time in the Sewing Cave. No real sewing as yet (repairs to a bath towel don't count!), although I cut out 3 more pairs of the McCall's 2476 pj pants, laundered the new knits that came from Casual Elegance, and traced off the new TSW Ann's Cardigan pattern. It was so nice to get some creative time to myself after such a hectic period.

I hope to have some new sewing projects to report on soon! I now have several items in various stages of production, so it's time to fire up the machines and make something!

Oy Vey

The new year has been incredibly busy so far, so no sewing projects thus far in 2012. I did do some post Christmas shopping, however. Most of it was via the internet but I also dipped a toe into the consignment shopping pool.

First up, some new fabrics from Casual Elegance, both are knits:

Both of them appeared on the site last fall but I've been trying to restrain myself. When I noticed that they were in the remnant section, I could no longer resist! The top one is much prettier in person, with little raised gold dots on a nice taupe shade. The second one is a burnout knit with a few splashes of silver.  2 yards of each. I'm really looking forward to playing around with these.

Next up, another internet purchase from 6pm.com, which is Zappo's clearance site. They don't have as great of a return policy as the main site but it was the year end clearance and free shipping, so I took a chance.

I lightened the picture a bit so you could see a little more detail, but these are dark black suede in real life. This is the second pair of Naya that I've purchased and they're really comfortable and well made. They'll be great to wear at work.

As I mentioned, a little consignment shopping. 2 Time Couture is located a couple of freeway exits from my office in downtown so I stopped by on my way home from work for their post holiday sale. And I bought these:

I know, "eww, used shoes, what are you thinking?" But folks, these had minimal wear, maybe worn once. I've bought "new" shoes that had more wear on them from try ons. Leopard hair calf with dark brown patent leather accents! How fun! The heels are a little high but quite stable.

I also bought some underthings at Soma's sale but pardon me if I don't post them here. You know what undies look like and besides, they're in the laundry.

My sister in law is flying in from New Jersey tomorrow, so I'll be cleaning instead of sewing today. And I'm being totally lax, but the Christmas stuff is staying up for a little while longer. I just don't have the energy to take down the decor before she arrives. It's a relatively modest display anyway, and somebody should see the tree besides DH, me and the cat.

JAM 6: Loes HInse Bergman Jacket (Work in Progress)

This one is still a work in progress. Instructions for how to make this "tweak" were published in Loes Hinse's newsletter last spring when Sharon of Casual Elegance, her fabric partner, acquired some chenille. Well, I was intrigued so I bought some of each color, traced off the pattern, and even made a test garment of the blouse!

...And then it got hot, and I lost all interest in making any sort of jacket whatsoever.

Fast forward to October, still warm but with an occasional nip in the air, so I'm looking about for jackets, sweaters, vests, etc. to sew for colder weather. And the Bergman Jacket worked its way back into my consciousness.

This one is a bit of a leap of faith to make because you have to make the jacket first, then throw it in the laundry where it shrinks to a more form-fitting shape.

Loes' instructions don't call for you to make the pattern a size larger or anything either. But it just made sense to me that a jacket would need to be a little larger than a blouse (which is what the original design was), so I added some "fit insurance" to the vertical edges of the pieces when cutting out.  1/4" to each princess seam and 1/2" to the side and sleeve seams. I figured I could always trim down later if necessary.

Another change I made was to lower the neckline more than the 1 1/2" specified. The photo of the finished neckline was much lower than that, so I assumed a typo and lowered mine by 10 1/2".

And I was concerned when I tried on the completed jacket after sewing it all together but before laundering. It was dowdy, folks. But I took my leap of faith and threw it in a delicate warm water wash as directed.

And this was the result as of last evening, right after retrieving it from the washing machine:

I'm really glad for the extra circumference, because this chenille really drew up a lot  when washed! I'm thinking it will go back to the original color when dry, which is more like this:

This is the fabric as it came from the bolt. Hard to tell from the photo, but it has the slightest hint of pink-ness to it.

As of this morning, it's still a bit damp, especially around the hem. The tweak has a double hem, so there are many layers of chenille in some places.

More on this one later. I still need to make buttonholes, attach buttons and put in some shoulder pads before I can call it done.